Thank you, to you and you and you
We’re winding down here… Day 32 of the 5-Week Author Blog Challenge suggests we give some shout-outs. All 35 posts for this Challenge will be focused on writing, publishing, and book marketing. I hope you’ll stick around through all 35 posts. And if you want to take part, come on in – the water is great! You can register here.
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Day 32 writing prompt:
Time for some shout-outs. This may mimic your acknowledgement page, but whom would you like to publicly thank for their help in creating your book or completing it to the point where it is presently?
I’ve not yet written the Acknowledgments page for “Stan,” but it will probably look a lot like this:
Stan probably wouldn’t have come into existence if it weren’t for my wonderful friend, Tim, on whom the character is very loosely based. We’ve lost touch over the last decade, but I know he’s still out there, and he comes to mind every now and again. As I mentioned in the prior post about having coffee with my favorite character, I would initially think of Tim when I pictured Stan – but that soon shifted, and Stan became his own person. A real person, to me, which I would venture to say is true for any novelist worth his/her salt. So, to Tim I say, “Thank you. For your kindness and amazing friendship. And for sparking a journey that would not have happened without you.”
Next up, I must thank the small group of writers in my very short-lived writers’ group. The writers themselves didn’t do anything in particular, but “Early one morning…” was one of the prompts we used, and it led to the first four paragraphs of Stan Finds Himself on the Other Side of the World.
Then, there’s the gang over at the 3-Day Novel Contest. It was over Labor Day weekend 2004 that Stan came to life. Yes, still working on it, but inching closer daily. Specifically, I thank whichever judge took the time to pen a handwritten note on the form rejection letter, which read: “‘Stan’ made it pretty far into the process. Good dialogue, good flow, good job!”
Of course, the shout-outs would be incomplete without thank you’s to all the people who gave me context, ideas, and insider info from which to write: Jane, Jacie, Nick F. and everyone else from my Lehman Brothers days, Samantha, Lisa, Sunil, Joey, Jeni, Arthur, and anyone else I might have inadvertently overlooked.
Next, I have to thank my sister and my friend Carol for their early strong encouragement. Right behind them are my great friends from a now defunct ABWA group. In particular, I thank Janet, the world traveler, who continues to cheer me on. She read an early copy of Stan and said, “It read like a mystery. Kept me interested to the end!” In fact, many of my world-traveler friends (Barbara, Ellyn, Helen, etc.) have given me hope that I’ve written well about places I’ve not yet visited.
Thank you to all the members of the Phoenix Publishing & Book Promotion Meetup who keep showing up and making progress on their own books. Your successes, small and large, continue to encourage me.
Thanks to my dad, who always believed in my language skills, and Sister Laurian for being one of my very first encouragers. Thanks to my mom for all the creative genius she sent my way. And thank you to my amazing husband, John, who continues to support and encourage whatever new crazy idea I come up with next. The ride wouldn’t be worth taking without you, babe!
Please make sure to check in again tomorrow, when I will offer be tossing out teasers on the ideas that might turn into my next novel.
And for the record, I’d love your feedback on my Author Blog Challenge posts! And, of course, would really love to have you support all of the bloggers in the Challenge. Find their links here.
Who do YOU need to thank today?
Laura
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Marcie Brock, Book Marketing Maven 